New York Times: At West Point, Annual Pillow Fight Becomes Weaponized
For generations, freshmen cadets at the United States Military Academy have marked the end of a grueling summer of training with a huge nighttime pillow fight that is billed as a harmless way to blow off steam and build class spirit.
But this year the fight on the West Point, N.Y., campus turned bloody as some cadets swung pillowcases packed with hard objects, thought to be helmets, that split lips, broke at least one bone, dislocated shoulders and knocked cadets unconscious. The brawl at the publicly funded academy, where many of the Army’s top leaders are trained, left 30 cadets injured, including 24 with concussions, according to West Point.
In interviews, cadets who asked that their names not be used for fear of repercussions in West Point’s strictly controlled culture, said the fight had left one cadet with a broken leg and dislocated shoulders in others. One cadet was knocked unconscious and taken away in an ambulance and had not returned to school, they said. But a spokesman for the academy, Lt. Col. Christopher Kasker, said all cadets had returned to duty.
WNU Editor: Helmets and body armour .... broken bones, broken neck, missing teeth, blood and concussions .... that is not a pillow fight.
More News On The Latest "Pillow Fight" At West Point
'One hell of a pillow fight' West Point tradition turns violent; 24 concussions -- FOX News
US elite military academy annual pillowfight ends in broken bones and concussions -- The Telegraph
Broken bones, dislocated shoulders and cadets taken away in an ambulance: 30 West Point students injured as annual PILLOW FIGHT turns nasty -- Daily Mail
30 cadets injured in bloody pillow fight at West Point -- USA Today
US cadets injured in pillow fight at prestigious academy -- BBC
SEE IT: West Point freshman cadet pillow fight turns into bloody brawl, injuring 30 -- New York Daily News
West Point cadet pillow fight ends in concussions and bloody split lips -- Mashable
1 comment:
IMHO This is a annual pillow fight that has gone Potlatch like many such hazing rituals do over the years.
They always have to increase the volume or a notch and do so by saying yesteryear men were men and tougher. They keep doing it until it spins out of control.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potlatch
Post a Comment